Stewart demands tiremaker heed feedback

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Tony Stewart defended his criticism of the tires Goodyear brought to Atlanta last weekend and said that it was time to speak out after years of closed-door meetings failed to produce a solution.

"You finally get to the point where, if you get frustrated enough, now it's gone from doing things in a nice, calm manner to I want to make sure I get somebody's attention about this," Stewart said Wednesday. He had called the tires "the most pathetic racing tire I've ever been on in my professional career."

Several drivers have agreed that the tires were subpar, including Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett.

Stewart said the tire company that has exclusive rights to NASCAR needs to understand that those rights bring responsibility, among them listening to the drivers. "They have to understand that we're the ones that drive them, we're the ones that have to give them the feedback. They need to start listening to us more," he said.

On Monday, Goodyear said it was satisfied with the performance of its tires, but promised to re-evaluate before returning to Atlanta in October.

The company's comments did not satisfy Stewart. "For them to say that they were satisfied with the race, that's insane," he said. "If they really firmly believe that … that scares me to death."

Roush bags appeal: Roush Fenway Racing will not appeal the penalties imposed on Carl Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne after winning March 2 at Las Vegas and failing a postrace inspection. The oil-tank reservoir lid was off, which could have caused an aerodynamic advantage. NASCAR docked Edwards 100 points, plus 10 bonus points if he makes the playoff. Osborne was fined $100,000 and will sit six races.